Chair

The four legs are joined by simple rods on the two sides and at the back. The front stretchers are, on the other hand, richly decorated with carved scrolls. The middle one is further enriched by inlaid lines, thus creating a broad cartouche. The back support repeats the cartouche motif twice, though with different - foliage - inlays. The top parts are also with foliage carvings. This type of chair was made under Lombard influence in the northern part of Hungary, probably in Szepesség. There had been no significant influence of Lombard furniture in Hungarian furniture industry until then. In King Matthias' court and in the 16th century Hungary, furniture making shows Tuscan and Florentine influence. In contrast, European countries (France, Spain, the Netherlands) modelled their furniture on contemporary Lombardy even in the 16th century. We might suppose, then, that the Lombard chairs were introduced to Hungary through Central Europe, Southern Germany or the Netherlands in the early 17th century. There are some companion pieces in the Kassa Museum (today Kosice) and in the collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts (Cat. No. 365).